Match date: Wednesday 22 January 2014.
Final Score: Manchester United 2 – 1 Sunderland AFC (3 – 3 Agg, SAFC Win 2 – 1 On Pens)
Reflection time…
As the time of writing this, it is the day after the evening before, and oh, what a truly wonderful night of Football for everyone associated with the greatest club in the land, Sunderland AFC!!
And what a game..!
To see the club you love fight their way to their first cup final appearance since 1992 (I was just leaving school then!) is a hugely emotional experience for all concerned.
What we witnessed was a brilliant, purposeful performance from a Sunderland side which absolutely oozed belief – but talk about a roller coaster of emotions! The breathlessness of the game itself, followed by an incredible, if not the worst penalty shoot-out in living memory!
Magical!
And of course the incredible scenes of celebration at the end of the game were a sight to behold. A special mention must go out to the 9,000 plus strong Sunderland faithful in attendance for flying the flag for Wearside.
Did we deserve to win it? Absolutely 100%. We never gave up, we refused to give up…
In all fairness, I must say that I feel a certain Mr Di Canio deserves a small portion of the credit given his insistence on player fitness during his short, and ultimately ill-fated association with the club. When the game went into extra-time, the Sunderland players looked stronger that their United counterparts, and this very fact could well have won us the game…
You know, as difficult and disappointing as our season has been so far, it could potentially turn out to be one of our best seasons ever. What with the cup final pencilled-in, and our ever improving Premier League form, we could be on course for our very own double of league survival and cup final winners!
Sounds like a plan!
Naturally, pundits and neutrals alike have instantly written off our hopes of beating the mighty Manchester City, so we must go into the game and not allow them to intimidate us. I am certain the Gus will ensure that the players are not caught up in the occasion – for me, regardless of how gifted City are as a team, ultimately they are human which in turn makes the game winnable.
FACT!
Dare to dream and always believe good people… Remember: You gotta have a dream, if you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true? ( I know, I know – it’s a line straight from the song ‘Happy Talk’ but I was hoping you wouldn’t notice…)
😉
In closing, I just want to say one last thing: Thank you lads – simply thank you to you all.
To use a phrase made memorable by the ‘Big Chris’ character in ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’, it’s the turn of this particular Big Chris to utter those very same words…
“It’s been emotional…”
My Man Of The Match: Each and every one of them. To choose a single name from a team which performed so admirably to a man would be hugely unfair.
Chris
https://twitter.com/CChambersSoM/status/426447281270042625
